comment

A Westchester County priest is currently under investigation for engaging in inappropriate behavior with a minor, church officials said.

The Rev. Thomas Kreiser at the Church of St. Joseph, in Bronxville, has been removed from service and that the matter has been referred to the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, said Joseph Zwilling, director of Communications for the Archdiocese of New York.

“We take all allegations of abuse seriously, and, as is our policy, immediately turned this allegation over to the Westchester DA," said Zwilling. The archdiocese and the parish is fully cooperating with the DA in its investigation."

Zwilling said that Father Krieser has been suspended from his assignment and will not be permitted to publicly function as a priest or present himself as a priest until the matter is resolved.

"The protection of our children and young people is our highest priority," he added.

Before joining St Joseph, he worked at St. Patrick's Church in Yorktown, at St. Gregory Barbarigo Church in Garnerville, and as an associate pastor at Sacred Heart in Monroe.

While at St. Gregory from 2008 to 2010 Father Kreiser faced legal trouble connected with the theft of more than $25,000 from the parish for gambling and personal use. He was sentenced in 2011 to five years probation.